Emptied of its usual markers of labor and display, the interstitial space of the transfigured, hardly150 square foot exhibition venue evokes, with its parqueted floor and bare walls, an abandoned domestic space. In the back of the room, as though the perpendicular planes of the floor and the wall had folded onto each other and left a trace of their unlikely encounter, fragments of walnut lumber encrusted in the dry wall and strips of plaster inlayed in the parquet floor mirror each other in a strict inversion of matter.

The reflective motif reveals itself as inherently site-specific, as it is determined by the modular relationship between the wood paneling and the general structure of the ground it covers. Paradoxically, despite its three-dimensional embodiment, Balula’s geometric intarsio prevails as an essentially bi-dimensional delineation: the artist draws here with space, like others draw with ink or graphite.

If, not unlike the ornamental art of marquetry in the Italian Renaissance, the artist’s environment relates ultimately to sculpture, architecture, and pictorial composition at once, its purpose exceeds merely formal explorations: suggesting, with a tremendous economy of means, a magical phenomenon, Balula investigates the structure of space, giving life, through a delicate conjuring trick, to the inanimate.

Davide Balula is represented by Galerie Frank Elbaz (Paris). He has shown internationally, in numerous venues such as Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Museums Quartier, Vienna; Museum of Contemporary Art of Kyoto; Museum of Contemporary Art of North Miami; Total Museum, Seoul. He is currently a member of the LMCC Residency Program.

Fake Estate was launched in 2007 by Julia Trotta. The unusually small space, a former utility closet in the West Chelsea Arts Building, houses a series of focused, experimental projects. While some will call for intimate inspection, others will restrict viewers from entering the space. Fake Estate serves as an alternative to the traditional art venue, challenging both the artist and the viewer to think within the very small box.